Material-treating apparatus



Feb. 12, 1929.

A. E. SCHULZ MATERIAL TREATING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 29,1924 Jill/@2275)" flrZWzzrESchal W Feb. 12, 1929. 1,701,639

A. E. SCHULZ MATERIAL TREATING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 29, 1924 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 12, 1929.

I A. E. SCHULZ MATERIAL TREATING APPARATUS s sheets-sheet Filed Dec. 29,1924 Patented Feb. 12, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR EHRHOLD SCHULZ, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 WESTERN ELEC-TRIO COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEWYORK.

MATERIAL-TREATIN G APPARATUS.

Application filed December 29, 1924. Serial No. 758,581.

This invention relates to material treating apparatus, and moreparticularly to apparatus for treating strip material.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved material treatingapparatus.

In accordance with the general features of the invention there isprovided a tank having compartments containin caustic cleaning andrinsing baths, throug which a plurality of metal tapes are drawnsuccessively from supply reels over guide rolls to power driven take-upfeed rolls and reels. A pair of relatively fixed rotary brushes areadapted to engage opposite surfaces of the tapes with any suitabledegree of pressure while in each bath. Manually operable endless chainspositioned beyond the ends of the rotary brushes carry a singleinterconnecting cross bar to which the ends of the tapes may be attachedwhile being threaded through the cleaning apparatus, the chainsremaining stationary during the cleaning operations.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appearfrom the following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment thereof, and inwhich Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a cleaning apparatus embodying thefeatures of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan fragmentary view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary View in elevation showing theadjustably mounted brushes;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3 looking inthe direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a detail plan View showing the manner in which the metal tapesare attached to the threading mechanism, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings wherein similar reference characters denotesimilar parts throughout the various Views, 10 indicates a supportingframe upon the top of which is mounted a tank 11 having a separatingpartition 12 intermediate its ends, thereby providing two compartmentsl3 and 14. The compartment 13 contains a caustic hot cleaning solutionwhile the compartment 14 contains clear water or any other suitablerinsing liquid. Positioned above the tank 11 and at opposite endsthereof u on shafts 15 and 16 are a plurality of supp y and take-upreels 17 and 18, respectively, which may be of any suitable type. Thesupply reels 17 are freely mounted for rotation upon the shaft 15 whichis supported at one end by brackets 21, the reels being retained uponthe spindle 15 by a locking member 22. The take-up reels 18 are srcuredfor rotation through any suitable means to the shaft 16, the drive forwhich will be described hereinafter. Mounted within each of thecompartments 13 and 14 are two power driven circular brushes 23 and 24which engage opposite surfaces of the tapes while in each bath and aredriven in o 0- site directions, thereby not affecting the pull on thetape from the take-up mechanism to be described hereinafter. The pairsof brushes are similarly mounted and driven so that a description of onewill sufiice. Each brush is freely rotatable upon a shaft 25 which isournaled at opposite ends in a double armed bracket 27, the bracketsbeing rotatably mounted upon studs 28 disposed intermediate the spindles25 and suitably secured to the side walls of the compartments (Fig. 4).

Freely rotatable upon the stud 28 secured to the right hand side Wall ofthe compartment as viewed in Fig. 4 is a sprocket wheel 29 and integraltherewith is a gear'30 meshing at diametrically oppositepoints withgears 31 suitably secured to the brushes which are freely rotatable uponthe spindles 25. A cross bar 32 extends between the brackets 27 of eachpair and is secured at opposite ends to the brackets, thereby tying themtogether for n'iovemcnt in unionism. Secured to the left hand bracket27, as viewed in Fig. 4, is a handle 33, more clearly shown in Fig. 3,for adjusting the angular position of the brushes carried by thebrackets. An angle bracket 34 secured to a top side ledge of the tank 11and provided with an arcuated slot 35 in its vertical arm cooperateswith a stud 36 mounted in the handle 33 to maintain the handle andconsequently the brushes in a set position during the operation of themachine. Suitably journaled within the compartments 13 and 14 andsupported from the side Walls thereof by brackets 37 are a plurality ofidler guide rolls 38, two being journaled within each compartment.Another idler guide roll 39 is disposed above the partition 12separating the compartments 13 and 14 and is journaled in brackets 40mounted upon the top surface of the tank. Associated with the roll 39and above the caustic solution compartment 13 is a squeeze roll 42rotatably and slidably journaled in brackets 43. The roll 42 is mountedin such a manner that it is drawn toward the periphery of the roll 39 bytension springs 44, one end of which is suitably secured at either endof the roll 42 while the opposite ends of the springs are suitablysecured to a fixed point on the tank 11. The squeeze roll 42 cooperateswith the roll 39 to prevent any of the caustic solution contained in thecompartment 13 which may be carried by the metal tapes therefrom, frombeing carried into the compartment 14 containing clear rinsing water asthe metal tapes travel from the compartment 13 to the compartment 14.The pressure of the roll 42 against the tapes traveling over the roll 39causes the caustic solution to flow back into the compartment 13.

Secured to the shafts upon which the guide rolls 38 and 39 turn andbeyond the ends of the rolls are sprocket wheels 45 which aresubstantially the same diameter as the rolls 38 and 39. Connectingeachset of sprocket wheels at either end of the rolls is an endless sprocketchain 46 which chains carry between them a bar 49 (Figs. 6 and 7). Thebar 49 is provided with a plurality of equally spaced, rectangularshaped openings 50, each being substantially the same in area as thecross sectional area of the tapes and in alinement with the supply andtake-up reels l7 and 18. A hand crank 51 secured to the shaft upon whichthe roll 38 turns furnishes the means for actuating the chains 46 andthe bar 49 in the direction indicated by the arrows. When the machine isin operation the bar 49 may be positioned above the brushes 23 and 24and the path of the tapes passing from the supply reels 17 to thetake-up reels 18 by turning the crank 51 until it is positioned abovethe axis of the last roll at the extreme right hand end of the machineas viewed in Fig. 1. Sprocket wheels 47 and 48 suitably mounted serve asguides for the upper sections of the chain in traveling toward the left.

Adjacent the take-up reels 18 and mounted above and at the extreme righthand end of the compartment 14 are two rubber feed rolls 52 and 53 whichserve to pull the tapes from the supply reels 17 under and over thevarious guide rolls and between each pair of brushes 23 and 24 andfinally to the take-up reels 18. The rolls 52 and 53 are journaled insuitable brackets 54, the lower roll 53 being fixed for rotation with ashaft 55 suitably journaled, while the upper roll 52 is slidably mountedfor vertical movement in guideways provided in the brackets. Compressionsprings (not shown), the compression of which may be adjusted by turningthumb screws 57, are suitably mounted in each of the brackets 54 in sucha manner that they constantly urge the roll 52 toward the roll 53,thereby providing the necessary traction for feeding the tapes throughthe machine.

A motor 58 positioned below the tank 11, through a suit-able reductiongearing enclosed within a housing 59, serves to rotate the shaft 55carrying the lower feed roll 53, the

reduction gearing being connected to the shaft 55 by sprockets and chainindicated at 60. The take-up reels 18 are driven through a belt 61connecting pulleys fixed to the shafts 55 and 16. The sprocket wheels29, the rotation of which through the gears 30 and 31, drive thecleaning brushes 23 and 24, are driven by suitable sprockets and chainsindicated by the numerals (34, 65, (i6, and 67 as best shown in Fig. 2.The direction of rotation of the various rolls and sprockets and thedirection of travel of the various sprocket chains are indicated byarrows throughoutthe drawings.

The operation of this apparatus is as follows: Reels 17 containing asupply of metal tapes 68 and empty reels 18 are first mounted upon theirrespective shafts 15 and 16. The tape threading mechanism comprising thesprocket chains 46 and the bar 49 extending therebetween is operated byturning the hand crank 51 clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 2, until the bar49 is at a point between the sprocket wheel 47 and the sprocket wheel 45adjacent the supply reels 17. The ends of the tapes coiled on thevarious reels 17 are then inserted in their respective openings 50 inthe bar 49 and bent backwardly upon themselves as clearly shown in Fig.(3. Before threading the tapes through the apparatus the brackets 27 arepreferably rotated clockwise a short distance from the position shown inthe drawings Fig. 1) to provide a clear path for the bar 49 carrying thetapes between the brushes. This movement of the brushes is accomplishedby turning the handle 33. The hand crank 51 is now turned clockwisewhich will cause the tapes to be drawn around the ,Q'HltlO roll 38located below the supply reels 17 and between the pair of brushes 23 and24 positioned in the caustic solution compartment 13, around the secondguide roll 38 positioned therein, up over the guide roll 39 intermediatethe two compartments, around the first guide roll 38 in the rinsingcompartment 14, between the pair of brushes positioned therein andfinally around the guide roll 38 adjacent the feed rolls 52 and 53. Uponthe bar 49 reaching a point substantially midway between the last guideroll mentioned and the sprocket wheel 48, the ends of the tapes are thenremoved from the bar 49 and threaded between the feed rolls 52 and 53and suitably secured to their respective take-up reels 18. The bracketsare now rotated counter-clockwise to cause the brushes to engage thetapes upon opposite surfaces with any suitable degree of pressure andare retained in their set position through the slotted bracket 34 andthe stud 36 mounted in the handle 33. The circuit to the motor 58 is nowclosed whereupon the takeup reels 18, feed roller 53 and the brushes 23and 24 carried in each compartment are caused to rotate through thedriving mechanism hereinbefore described. The brushes 23 and 24, it willbe observed, rotate in opposite directions as indicated by the arrowsand thus do not materially interfere with the pull on the tapes by thefeed rolls 52 and 53. The linear speed of the brushes is much greaterthan that of the tapes so that as the tapes pass the brushes in thecaustic solution compartment, they are given a Very thorough brush ingand thereafter pass into the rinsing compartment and are furtherthoroughly brushed with clear water by the brushes mounted therein andfinally are coiled upon the reels 18. A suitable braking or retardingmeans (not shown) may be provided for the supply reels 17 to maintainthe desired tension on the tape while being drawn through the apparatusand to prevent overrunning of the reels. To prevent the brushes 23 fromthrowing the cleaning solution and water from the apparatus, they areprovided With guards 69 which surround the upper half thereof and aresuitably mounted upon the brackets 27.

What'is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for treating strip material, a pair of positivelyrotated cylindrical brushes, a tension means for advancing the materialin a straight path between said brushes, means for engaging the brusheswith opposite sides of the strip material at points longitudinallyspaced apart on the strip, and means for equally varying the pressuresof the brushes on the strip.

2. In an apparatus for treating strip material, a pair of positivelyrotated cylindrical brushes for engaging the material, a tension meansfor advancing the material in a straight path between the brushes, apivotal mounting for the brushes in the line of the path of thematerial, and means for adj ustably revolving the brushes about theirpivot to vary the pressures of the brushes against the material.

3. In an apparatus for treating strip material, means for advancing thestrip material through the apparatus, a bracket, a pair of cylindricalbrushes for contacting with the material and mounted on the bracket, acentral pivot for the bracket, means in axial alignment with the pivotfor rotating the brushes in opposite directions, and means for equallyadjusting the contact of the brushes with the material by rotating thebracket.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name' this 17th day ofDecember, A. 1)., 1924.

ARTHUR EHRHOLD SCHULZ.

